Dolphins' offense full of problems, questionable solutions

Team seems inadequate in many areas but players and coaches say they see improvement

August 20, 2013

DAVIE – The Dolphins' offense has so many problems it's tough to know where to start when addressing the biggest problems. Tight end. Right guard. Running back. Pass protection. Getting off to a fast start. The offense is a hot mess going into Saturday's pre-season home opener against Tampa Bay.

But let's start with tight end, because starter Dustin Keller, who had a chance to be the team's leading receiver, was put on the injured reserve list Tuesday with a knee injury. It's a catastrophic blow.

The Dolphins have no one to replace Keller. Among backup tight ends -- Charles Clay, Michael Egnew, Dion Sims and Kyle Miller -- Clay, who has 34 receptions for 445 yards and five touchdowns in two seasons, is the likely replacement. It's an iffy proposition. Clay has good speed but had a tendency to drop passes.

"I think you'd have to give the nod to Clay as the starter," offensive coordinator Mike Sherman said. "He'll play in a bunch of different packages. He'll play in the backfield as well on the line of scrimmage. He'll play spilt out. He'll do a lot of different things for us. He's more than capable."

At right guard incumbent John Jerry, who hasn't played any of the three pre-season games due to a left knee injury, returned to 11-on-11 action Tuesday but had a noticeable limp when he ran. He was probably the weak link in the offensive line last season and now he's counted on as the finishing touch. It's not a good situation.

That brings us to pass protection. It's been awful, at times. At its best it's been decent. It's never been good. Earlier in pre-season there was leakage at both right guard and left tackle, where Jonathan Martin plays.

"He's silently got better and better each and every single day," Sherman said.

There were signs of hope last week. Quarterback Ryan Tannehill praised the pass protection against the Texans. He said it enabled him to hit speedy wide receiver Mike Wallace three times for 58 yards and a touchdown.

"Going from Jacksonville to Houston," Tannehill said in reference to the second and third pre-season games, "I had a tremendous amount of time in the pocket, was able to really get some balls downfield and move around in the pocket a little bit. So we saw a huge improvement there, and in the run game as well, so we'll continue to look for that to keep on the same track."

Speaking of the run game, the starting tailback job, which seemed to be a given for Lamar Miller, the second-year player from the University of Miami, is up for grabs between him and Daniel Thomas.

Neither is a complete back. And Miller, who fumbled against Dallas and dropped a third-down pass against Houston, already has two marks against him.

"Lamar has to catch the ball when you're wide open on (third)-and-two," Philbin said. "That's a play you have to make in that critical situation early in the ballgame when you want to start fast."

Ah, yes, starting fast. It's been something Philbin has been harping on for a while. Last week cornerback Brent Grimes had an interception on the third play of the game. The Dolphins' offense took over on their 35-yard line and then proceeded to lose a total of six yards in three plays before being forced to punt.

The Dolphins' offense has to improve tremendously before the Sept. 8 regular-season opener at Cleveland, but wide receiver Brian Hartline is confident they're on the right path.

"We've improved, we've gotten better," he said of the offense's progress since training camp began a month ago. "But when it comes down to time to get going, and getting close to Sept. 8, is when you're really going to start seeing the difference."